(CNN) - House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner made the case for why he should be the new House Speaker in a letter to new members Thursday.

In the letter posted on his website, Boehner stressed his "humble beginnings" and said only in America would he have the opportunity to serve as Speaker.
"It's the American Dream that brought me here. Defending and restoring that Dream for our children and grandchildren will be my mission as Speaker, if I am fortunate enough to serve," Boehner wrote. "I humbly ask for your vote to serve as Speaker of the House in the 112th Congress."

The letter serves as an introduction of sorts for new members into the chamber and charges them with carrying out a new way forward where the "people's priorities must be our priorities."

"The statement made by the America people this week was a repudiation of Washington," Boehner said in the letter. "We need smaller, more accountable government that honors our Constitution and respects the will of the people. This must be the focus of the new majority."

He also reiterated some of the promises in the Republican's "Pledge for America" about the legislative process if he becomes Speaker. Boehner said the American people will have at least three days to read any proposed legislation and will put an end to "comprehensive" bills rushed through Congress.

soundoff(28 Responses)

Yeah, from humble beginnings to entitlement and arrogance. He's come a long way, (cry)baby.

November 4, 2010 05:42 pm at 5:42 pm |

Claudia, Houston, Tx

Welcome new members, now let me tell you how we do nothing but help the rich and you're not going to change us, so go back home and tell those "tea baggers" to get lost.

November 4, 2010 05:44 pm at 5:44 pm |

Sniffit

"McConnell is already in "IMPEACH MODE" and setting the STAGE!!"

Yep. Just watch. Issa's already talking up all th einvestigations he wants to get to after they pass Ryan's budget that defunds the government, destroys SS and Medicare by 2030 and sets the foundations for getting rid of agencies the Dept. of Education. The Civil Rights Commission is helping by sending out 4 more subpoenas today regarding the New Black Panther voter intimidation farce they've been cooking up for 2 years. Add in a few things like the rampant lies about how much the India trip is costing and you can see how the misinformation campaigns have turned from attepting to incite hate to attempting to justify investigations.

On that last point, conservative spin machines are trying to get it out there that it is costing $200M per day. Guess what? The entire Afghanistan war costs $190M per day. But they're disseminating that kind of bombastic misinformation so that people like Boehner and Cantor and Issa can yell and scream and say "hey, everybody says you spent $200M per day on the diplomatic trip to India" and then try to order an investigation when the Obama adminstration refuses to release the numbers for security reasons. ANYTHING to get investigations going is the name of the game. The more witch-hunting they do, the more likely they think they will be able to piece together some cockamammee rationalization for impeachment or doing things liek asking for Holder's resignation. Just get out your popcorn and watch.